The declines came on the heels of a disappointing first week of September. On Friday, blue chips and technology issues fell sharply as investors who were concerned about third-quarter earnings took profits or sought to minimize their positions.

Priceline And The Prince

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has agreed to invest another $50 million in Norwalk-based priceline.com, bringing his total investment to $100 million.

Alwaleed, the chairman of Kingdom Holding Co., will purchase a forward contract to buy 2 million shares of priceline stock at $25 a share, for a total purchase price of $50 million, the company announced Monday.

The agreement entitles Prince Alwaleed to take title to the shares no earlier than Sept. 8, 2001, and no later than Sept. 8, 2002. Until then, priceline founder Jay Walker will retain voting control and ownership of the shares.

Priceline.com is the name-your-own-price Internet pricing system for services that include airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars and home mortgages.

Have You Heard?

Coin collectors around the country would like to have the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Ronald Reagan and Harry Truman in their pockets.

They were the top vote-getters in a national survey asking collectors whom they would like to see depicted on coins.

The collectors' suggestions ranged from Jesus Christ to the Three Stooges, and included 33 presidents, as well as astronauts, actresses, artists, baseball players, pioneers and a king -- Elvis Presley.

``We're hoping if we can get enough exposure, we might start a groundswell for some revisions to our pocket change,'' said David Sundman, president of Littleton Coin Co. of Littleton, N.H.

The company posted the survey on its Web site, and sent questionnaires to customers with coin orders. King was the top choice of the 1,940 collectors who responded. Reagan and Truman followed King. President Clinton came in 14th.